Thursday, January 23, 2014

Wishful thinking? In the continuation of the hard copy of Thursday's paper, Elizabeth Moffly is labeled "ex-board member."
Perennial candidate Elizabeth Moffly runs again for the post of state superintendent of education. This is not an endorsement, but we could do worse. Moffly narrowly lost to Mick Zais last time around in the Republican primary.

Eliminate the Common Core standards. These were adopted willingly by our last Democrat State Superintendent in 2010. The costs associated with implementation are horrendous, from teacher training to new educational materials to development of new aligned testing on computer. CC is a boondoggle for the edublob. Developed by business interests and the Gates Foundation, it won't deliver what it promises.

Provide a variety of diploma plans. Why do we go for one-size-fits-all? President Obama to the contrary, not every graduate should attend a four-year college. Think of all the outstanding student loans burdening non-graduates who cannot get a job. Many states already have several diplomas. Look at Texas; it has at least three.

Change the grading system. What is the rationale for the standard A = 93 to 100 when other states use A = 90 to 100. If you haven't dealt with the numbers converting to a four-point system, you don't realize how our system hurts students applying to competitive colleges out of state.